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The West Australian: 12 April 2018

A bold Milan Jerkovic has praised Blackham Resources’ board and management for emerging from last year’s tumultuous financial turmoil to deliver a record-breaking quarter to kickstart 2018.

Blackham was scrambling to meet a $14.8 million debt repayment in the December quarter as the northern Goldfields gold miner struggled to reduce strip ratios at its flagship Matilda-Wiluna project.

After prominent mining contractor MACA bailed Blackham out with a new $14.3 million loan to repay financier Orion Mine Finance, the company led by Mr Jerkovic has reeled in its problematic all-in sustaining costs.

On Monday, Blackham reported production at the 6.5 million ounce Matilda-Wiluna gold project had soared by 38 per cent in the January quarter, with 20,631oz produced at March’s end.

Blackham’s AISC also reduced 42 per cent from $1882oz to $1092oz in the quarter, while cash and bullion was at $29.2 million.

Mr Jerkovic conceded the last half of 2017 was difficult but said he was overwhelmed with the gold miner’s recovery.

“It was a very, very trying six months, particularly in the last quarter of last year,” he said.

“The personal and professional efforts were put in and the results are testament of the work that was done to get there.

“There is no doubt that the board and management, while they’ve been publicly hurt by the experience, there is no question in their work to get to this point.”

AISC at Matilda-Wiluna have been slashed by more than 50 per cent since the September quarter when they were at a mammoth $2236. Milling also increased from 379.4kt in the September quarter to 477.5kt at the end of March.

Mr Jerkovic said there would be a continual focus placed on maintaining Matilda-Wiluna’s currently low AISC.

“We are trying to reschedule and improve the plan as we go to ensure the incremental strip ratios don’t blow out again and we need to put more capital into ore access,” he said.

“We have three rigs onsite at the moment improving the underground plan, adding new reserves from around the mill itself and extensional drilling around the current mine.

“We are reasonably confident (the strip ratios won’t increase) because the geology we know, but until you get the drill results back and analyse them and put your reserves around them, there is a risk.

“But we are fairly confident that we have a solid plan going forward that we can improve.”